Monitoring the North American Interconnections at Distribution Level

The North American Frequency Monitoring Network (FNET) is a wide-area measurement system that monitors the North American Interconnections at distribution voltage level. A situational awareness system has been implemented on the server located at Virginia Tech to detect and analyze power system disturbances in near-real time. This paper demonstrates the viability of monitoring bulk transmission systems at a very low, voltage level by discussing several major disturbances in the Eastern Interconnection (EI) observed by FNET. Important parameters of power systems, such as frequency, voltage and phase angle, are examined to understand system behavior during disturbances. The recordings and analysis show that a great deal of valuable information about dynamics in transmission systems can be obtained at a lower voltage level. The disturbance location estimation is also analyzed as an application of the distribution-level measurements.